Cloud data storage location monitoring

ABSTRACT

Technologies for monitoring data storage location for cloud data include a cloud monitoring server configured to communicate with one or more cloud customer computing devices and cloud service providers. The cloud monitoring server receives monitoring requests from the cloud customer computing devices and retrieves provider information from the cloud service providers. The cloud monitoring server compiles response data based on the monitoring requests and the provider information, and sends response data to the cloud customer computing devices. Cloud customer computing devices may send on-demand monitoring requests and/or continuous, policy-based monitoring requests. For policy-based monitoring, the cloud monitoring server continually monitors the provider information and provides response data when one or more conditions specified in the policy are satisfied. The cloud monitoring server may also make recommendations and provide feedback based on the monitoring requests or the provider information. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/657,982, entitled “Cloud Data Storage Location Monitoring,” whichwas filed on Jul. 24, 2017, and which is a continuation application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 15/042,214, entitled “Cloud Data StorageLocation Monitoring,” which was filed on Feb. 12, 2016, and which issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 9,716,756 on Jul. 25, 2017, and which is a continuationapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/715,387, entitled “CloudData Storage Location Monitoring,” which was filed on Dec. 14, 2012, andwhich issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,264,499 on Feb. 16, 2016.

BACKGROUND

Computer data is increasingly stored “in the cloud”; that is, stored indistributed data sources available over a ubiquitous network such as theInternet. Although often considered amorphous or abstract, data stored“in the cloud” resides in very real, physical storage devices such ascomputer servers and storage networks. Such physical data storagedevices may be, and usually are, scattered across the world. Further,each physical data storage device may store cloud data belonging tonumerous cloud data customers. However, the cloud data is usuallypresented as an abstract, unified data store to each cloud datacustomer. Thus, the physical data storage location or storage layout ofthe cloud data is usually invisible to the cloud data customer. Somecloud service providers provide general information on the country orregion where cloud data centers are located. Additionally, some cloudservice providers allow cloud data customers to purchase a so-called“dedicated cloud” to store data in a known location, at increased cost.

Governmental and other regulatory requirements may restrict a cloud datacustomer's ability to store data in certain physical locations. Forexample, the United States government restricts data relating to certainexport-controlled technologies from being stored in certain controlledcountries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asystem for cloud data storage location monitoring;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anenvironment of a cloud data storage location monitoring server and anenvironment of a cloud customer computing device of the system of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for monitoring cloud data storage location that may be executedby a cloud customer computing device of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for monitoring cloud data storage location that may be executedby the cloud data storage location monitoring server of FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and will be describedherein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is nointent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the presentdisclosure and the appended claims.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an illustrative embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily includethat particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, suchphrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further,when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases, inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosedembodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried by or storedon a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) storage medium, which may be read and executed by oneor more processors. A machine-readable storage medium may be embodied asany storage device, mechanism, or other physical structure for storingor transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., avolatile or non-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media device).

In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown inspecific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should beappreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may not berequired. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged ina different manner and/or order than shown in the illustrative figures.Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in aparticular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required inall embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may becombined with other features.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a system 100 for monitoringcloud data storage location includes a cloud data storage locationmonitoring server 102 (hereinafter, referred to as the “cloud monitoringserver” 102), one or more cloud customer computing devices 104, and oneor more cloud service providers 106, all in communication with eachother over a network 108. In use, as discussed in more detail below, thecloud monitoring server 102 is configured to receive monitoring requestsfrom the cloud customer computing devices 104, collect and analyzeprovider information from one or more of the cloud service providers106, and send resulting response data to the cloud customer computingdevices 104.

The disclosed technologies allow cloud data customers to obtaincustomized information on data storage location either on-demand orbased on the occurrence of a defined event. The cloud data customer mayuse such customized information for several purposes. For example, thecloud data customer may use information on the status of cloud datastorage location at a particular time for auditing purposes.Alternatively, a cloud data customer subject to regulation may requestto be notified when data changes storage location from one location toanother. Still another cloud data customer may use information on datastorage location to verify and monitor contractual or operationalcontrols on data storage location. Further, cloud data customers areable to access aggregated data for several cloud data providers with asingle request. On the other side of the relationship, cloud dataproviders are able to provide such customized information in acost-effective manner, with minimal impact on the provider's existingsystems. The ability to provide and obtain customized cloud data storagelocation information in a timely and cost-effective manner allows forincreased use of cloud data storage, particularly for potential clouddata customers with regulated data or operating in regulated industries.

The cloud monitoring server 102 may be embodied as any type of servercomputing device, or collection of devices, capable of performing thefunctions described herein. As such, the cloud monitoring server 102 maybe embodied as a single server computing device or a collection ofservers and associated devices. For example, in some embodiments, thecloud monitoring server 102 is embodied as a cloud monitoring service toperform the functions described herein. In such embodiments, the cloudmonitoring server 102 may be embodied as a “virtual server” formed frommultiple computing devices distributed across the network 108 andoperating in a public or private cloud. Accordingly, although the cloudmonitoring server 102 is illustrated in FIG. 1 and described below asembodied as a single server computing device, it should be appreciatedthat the cloud monitoring server 102 may be embodied as multiple devicescooperating together to facilitate the functionality described below.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the cloud monitoring server102 includes a processor 120, a memory 124, an input/output subsystem122, a communication circuit 128, and a data storage device 126. Ofcourse, the cloud monitoring server 102 may include other or additionalcomponents, such as those commonly found in a computer server (e.g.,various input/output devices), in other embodiments. Additionally, insome embodiments, one or more of the illustrative components may beincorporated in, or otherwise form a portion of, another component. Forexample, the memory 124, or portions thereof, may be incorporated in theprocessor 120 in some embodiments.

The processor 120 may be embodied as any type of processor capable ofperforming the functions described herein. For example, the processor120 may be embodied as a single or multi-core processor(s), digitalsignal processor, microcontroller, or other processor orprocessing/controlling circuit. Similarly, the memory 124 may beembodied as any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or data storagecapable of performing the functions described herein. In operation, thememory 124 may store various data and software used during operation ofthe cloud monitoring server 102 such as operating systems, applications,programs, libraries, and drivers. The memory 124 is communicativelycoupled to the processor 120 via the I/O subsystem 122, which may beembodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitate input/outputoperations with the processor 120, the memory 124, and other componentsof the cloud monitoring server 102. For example, the I/O subsystem 122may be embodied as, or otherwise include, memory controller hubs,input/output control hubs, firmware devices, communication links (i.e.,point-to-point links, bus links, wires, cables, light guides, printedcircuit board traces, etc.) and/or other components and subsystems tofacilitate the input/output operations. In some embodiments, the I/Osubsystem 122 may form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and beincorporated, along with the processor 120, the memory 124, and othercomponents of the cloud monitoring server 102, on a single integratedcircuit chip.

The data storage device 126 may be embodied as any type of device ordevices configured for short-term or long-term storage of data such as,for example, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard diskdrives, solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. The datastorage device 126 may store, permanently or temporarily, monitoringrequests received from the cloud customer computing devices 104,provider information received from the cloud service providers 106, orresponse data prepared for transmission to the cloud customer computingdevices 104.

The communication circuit 128 of the cloud monitoring server 102 may beembodied as any communication circuit, device, or collection thereof,capable of enabling communications between the cloud monitoring server102, the cloud customer computing devices 104, the cloud serviceproviders 106, and/or other remote devices. The communication circuit128 may be configured to use any one or more communication technology(e.g., wireless or wired communications) and associated protocols (e.g.,Ethernet, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, WiMAX, etc.) to effect such communication.

As discussed in more detail below, the cloud monitoring server 102 isconfigured to transmit and receive data with the other devices of thesystem 100 over the network 108. The network 108 may be embodied as anynumber of various wired and/or wireless networks. For example, thenetwork 108 may be embodied as, or otherwise include, a wired orwireless local area network (LAN), a wired or wireless wide area network(WAN), and/or a publicly-accessible, global network such as theInternet. As such, the network 108 may include any number of additionaldevices, such as additional computers, routers, and switches, tofacilitate communications between the cloud monitoring server 102 andthe other devices of the system 100.

The cloud customer computing devices 104 are configured to sendmonitoring requests to and receive response data from the cloudmonitoring server 102, as discussed in more detail below. Each cloudcustomer computing device 104 is controlled by a person or entitymaintaining cloud data with one or more of the cloud service providers106. Accordingly, the cloud customer computing devices 104 may beembodied as any type of computer, mobile device, smart phone, or othercomputing device capable of performing the functions described herein.As such, the cloud service providers 106 may include components andfeatures similar to the cloud monitoring server 102, such as aprocessor, I/O subsystem, memory, data storage, communication circuitry,and various peripheral devices, which are not illustrated in FIG. 1 forclarity of the present description. Further, although the illustrativesystem 100 of FIG. 1 includes three cloud customer computing devices104, it should be understood that any number of cloud customer computingdevices 104 may interact with the cloud monitoring server 102.

The cloud service providers 106 are configured to provide distributeddata storage services, as discussed in more detail below. The cloudservice providers 106 provide data storage and data access services tothe entities controlling the cloud customer computing devices 104. Thecloud service providers 106 also provide data storage locationmonitoring information to the cloud monitoring server 102 as discussedin more detail below. The cloud service providers 106 may be embodied asany type of data server (e.g., a web server) or similar computing devicecapable of performing the functions described herein. As such, the cloudservice providers 106 may include components and features similar to thecloud monitoring server 102, such as a processor, I/O subsystem, memory,data storage, communication circuitry, and various peripheral devices,which are not illustrated in FIG. 1 for clarity of the presentdescription. Further, although illustrated in FIG. 1 as a single servercomputing device, each cloud service provider 106 may be embodied asmultiple devices cooperating together to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein.

The cloud service providers 106 have access to distributed data 140,which may be accessible over a network. In some embodiments, thedistributed data 140 may be stored in data storage of the respectivecloud service provider 106. In other embodiments, the distributed data140 may be distributed among one or more data servers, and may begeographically distributed among one or more regions or countries. Forexample, distributed data 140 a may be located in the United States,distributed data 140 b may be located in China, and distributed data 140c may be located in the European Union. Further, although theillustrative system 100 of FIG. 1 includes three cloud service providers106 each with three instances of distributed data 140, it should beunderstood that any number of cloud service providers 106 may store andmonitor the distributed data 140 in any number of locations.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the cloud monitoring server102 establishes an environment 200 during operation. The illustrativeenvironment 200 includes a cloud customer interface module 202, a cloudprovider interface module 204, and a data analysis engine 212. Thevarious modules of the environment 200 may be embodied as hardware,firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

The cloud customer interface module 202 is configured to receivemonitoring requests 214 from the cloud customer computing devices 104.Each monitoring request 214 may be embodied as an on-demand request forstorage location information or a continuous, policy-based request forstorage location information. Each monitoring request 214 may requeststorage location information for one or more of the cloud serviceproviders 106. Each monitoring request 214 may include one or morepolicies regarding data storage location. The cloud customer interfacemodule 202 is further configured to send response data 218, produced bythe data analysis engine 212, to the cloud customer computing devices104.

The cloud provider interface module 204 is configured to retrieveprovider information 216 from the cloud service providers 106. In someembodiments, the cloud provider interface module 204 may receive theprovider information 216 published by the cloud service providers 106 onan information bus. The cloud provider interface module 204 may pull theprovider information 216 directly from the cloud service providers 106,as demanded by cloud customer computing devices 104, or on a predefinedschedule. In some embodiments, those functions may be performed bysub-modules, for example, by an information bus module 206, a continuouspull module 208, and/or an on-demand pull module 210.

The data analysis engine 212 is configured to transfer the monitoringrequest 214 between the cloud customer interface module 202 and thecloud provider interface module 204, and to prepare the response data218 based on the provider information 216 and the monitoring request214. The data analysis engine 212 may prepare additional analysis orrecommendations for either the cloud customer computing devices 104 orthe cloud service providers 106.

In one embodiment, each cloud customer computing device 104 establishesan environment 220 during operation. The illustrative environment 220includes a monitoring request module 222 and a communication module 224.Similar to the modules of the environment 200 of the cloud monitoringservers 102, the various modules of the environment 220 of the cloudcustomer computing devices 104 may be embodied as hardware, firmware,software, or a combination thereof.

The monitoring request module 222 is configured to build monitoringrequests 214, which, as discussed above, may be embodied as on-demandrequests or continuous, policy-based requests. In some embodiments, themonitoring request module 222 may receive specified cloud serviceproviders 106 to be monitored, specified cloud data to be monitored, orspecified monitoring policies from a user of the cloud customercomputing device 104.

The communication module 224 is configured to send the completedmonitoring request 214 to the cloud monitoring server 102. Thecommunication module 224 is also configured to receive response data 218from the cloud monitoring server 102. Such response data 218 may bereceived immediately after sending the monitoring request 214, or may bereceived some time later, for example, when a condition of themonitoring policy has been satisfied.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in use, a cloud customer computing device 104may execute a method 300 for monitoring cloud data storage location. Themethod 300 begins with block 302, wherein the cloud customer computingdevice 104 subscribes to the cloud monitoring service provided by thecloud monitoring server 102. As part of the subscription process, thecloud customer computing device 104 may establish authenticationcredentials with the cloud monitoring server 102. The cloud customercomputing device 104 may also establish associations with one or morecloud service providers 106. The subscription process of block 302 maybe performed some time before requesting storage location monitoring.

In block 304, the cloud customer computing device 104 builds amonitoring request 214. As discussed above, the cloud customer computingdevice 104 may build the monitoring request 214 for several purposes,including data storage location auditing, compliance monitoring, orcontrol verification. As explained in more detail below, the cloudcustomer computing device 104 tailors the monitoring request 214 tosupport the use requested by the cloud customer.

In block 306, the cloud customer computing device 104 may specify one ormore cloud service providers 106 in the monitoring request 214. Thespecified cloud service providers 106 may be determined based on userinput at the cloud customer computing device 104, or may be determinedaccording to the purpose of the monitoring request 214. Alternatively,the monitoring request 214 may rely on associations between the cloudcustomer computing device 104 and one or more cloud service providers106 already established on the cloud monitoring server 102. In block308, the cloud customer computing device 104 may specify particular datato be monitored in the monitoring request 214 (e.g., which data of thecloud customer is to be monitored). Again, the particular data to bemonitored may be determined based on user input or on the monitoringneeds of the cloud customer entity.

In block 310, the cloud customer computing device 104 determines whetherthe monitoring request 214 is policy-based. Such determination may bebased on user input, or based on the monitoring needs of the cloudcustomer. If not policy-based, then the monitoring request 214 isdetermined to be on-demand, and the method 300 advances to block 318.Alternatively, if the monitoring request 214 is determined to bepolicy-based, the method 300 advances to block 312.

In block 312, the cloud customer computing device 104 builds amonitoring request policy for the monitoring request 214. Parameters ofthe monitoring policy may be set by user input, or according to needs ofthe cloud customer. In one illustrative embodiment shown in block 314,the cloud customer computing device 104 may specify a monitoring policybased on data storage location. For example, the monitoring policy maydefine particular countries or geographical locations where data storageis allowed (a so-called “whitelist”). In some embodiments, themonitoring policy may define particular countries where data storage isprohibited (a so-called “blacklist”). Such geographical locations (or“geo-locations”) may include any geographical location including, butnot limited to countries, particular states or regions within a countryor countries, multiple countries, cities, and/or other geo-locations.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the monitoringpolicy may define more complicated relationships (e.g., where thestorage location changes from a first country or geographical locationto a second country or geographical location). In such embodiments, thecloud customer computing device 104 may specify a monitoring policybased on location change frequency in block 316. For example, the cloudcustomer entity may request to be notified every time storage locationchanges, or only if storage location changes more frequently than areference frequency (e.g., more than once per day, twice per month, tentimes per month, etc.).

In block 318, the cloud customer computing device 104 sends thecompleted monitoring request 214 to the cloud monitoring server 102. Thecloud customer computing device 104 may authenticate or otherwisevalidate the monitoring request 214 with the cloud monitoring server102, for example using authentication credentials established in block302. After sending the monitoring request 214, the cloud customercomputing device 104 may immediately await a response to on-demandrequests from the cloud monitoring server 102. For continuous,policy-based requests, the cloud customer computing device 104 may yieldto other processes and restart the method 300 upon receiving a response.

In block 320, the cloud customer computing device 104 receives theresponse data 218 from the cloud monitoring server 102. In someembodiments, the response data 218 may include recommendations from thecloud monitoring server 102. Such recommendations may includerecommended services available from the cloud service providers 106related to the request, and in some embodiments may include additionalor alternate recommended cloud service providers 106. The cloud customercomputing device 104 may use the response data 218 according to theneeds of the cloud customer. For example, the response data 218 may bepresented in a user interface, or may be incorporated in an additionalprocess, for example in an audit report (not pictured). After receivingthe response data 218, the method 300 loops back to block 304 to buildanother monitoring request 214.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in use, the cloud monitoring server 102 mayexecute a method 400 for monitoring cloud data storage location. Themethod 400 begins with block 402, wherein the cloud monitoring server102 registers subscribing cloud customer computing devices 104 and cloudservice providers 106. As part of the registration process, each cloudcustomer computing device 104 or cloud service provider 106 mayestablish authentication credentials with the cloud monitoring server102. The cloud monitoring server 102 may perform additional tasks aspart of registration, for example, associating each cloud customercomputing device 104 with one or more cloud service providers 106, orverifying the cloud data relationships between each cloud customercomputing device 104 and one or more cloud service providers 106.Registration may occur some time prior to cloud data storage locationmonitoring.

In block 404, the cloud monitoring server 102 determines whether amonitoring request 214 has been received from a cloud customer computingdevice 104. The cloud monitoring server 102 may authenticate or validatethe monitoring request 214, for example, by authenticating credentialsof the cloud customer computing device 104 previously established inblock 402, or by verifying that the cloud customer computing device 104has a cloud data storage relationship with one or more of the cloudservice providers 106. If no monitoring request 214 has been received,the method 400 loops back to block 404 to continue waiting for amonitoring request 214. If a monitoring request 214 has been received,the method 400 advances to block 406.

In block 406, the cloud monitoring server 102 collects providerinformation 216 from a cloud service provider 106. The cloud serviceprovider 106 may be specified in the monitoring request 214. If notspecified in the monitoring request 214, the cloud monitoring server 102may determine the cloud service provider 106 based on a previouslyestablished relationship between the cloud customer computing device 104and the cloud service provider 106. In some embodiments, in block 408the cloud monitoring server 102 retrieves provider information 216 froman information bus. An information bus is a communications facilityallowing information to be exchanged between components and devicesusing a common protocol. In general, entities may publish information tothe information bus, and a decoupled set of entities may subscribe tothat information on the information bus. Such an information bus isoften used for application integration in large enterprises. Thus, acloud service provider 106 may publish data storage location informationusing a standard protocol to the information bus, and the cloudmonitoring server 102 may subscribe to receive such data storagelocation information from that cloud service provider 106, based on thereceived monitoring request 214. The information bus may be implementedas a module or server process of the cloud monitoring server 102, or maybe implemented as a standalone data server (not pictured).

In some embodiments, in block 410 the cloud monitoring server 102 maypull the provider information 216 directly from a cloud service provider106. Pulling information directly from the cloud service provider 106may allow for customized information retrieval. Such customizedretrieval, however, may be less cost-effective than providinginformation according to a standard protocol. Although illustrated inmethod 400 as a synchronous process initiated upon receiving themonitoring request 214, in some embodiments, the cloud monitoring server102 may repeatedly pull the provider information 216 from the cloudservice provider 106 in the background, in another process, or otherwiseconcurrently with the method 400.

In block 412, the cloud monitoring server 102 determines whetherprovider information 216 should be collected from additional cloudservice providers 106. The monitoring request 214 may specify any numberof cloud service providers 106. Alternately, the cloud customercomputing device 104 may be associated with more than one cloud serviceprovider 106. If additional cloud service providers 106 remain, themethod 400 loops back to block 406 to continue collecting providerinformation 216. If no additional cloud service providers 106 remain,the method 400 advances to block 414.

In block 414, the cloud monitoring server 102 compiles the response data218 based on the monitoring request 214 and the provider information216. The response data 218 includes data storage location informationfor the cloud service providers 106 specified by the monitoring request214. The response data 218 may include data storage location informationfor particular cloud data specified to be monitored in the monitoringrequest 214. The cloud monitoring server 102 may compile the responsedata 218 by packaging, formatting, or converting the providerinformation 216 for transmission to the cloud customer computing device104. The cloud monitoring server 102 may perform additional analysis onthe provider information 216, to develop recommendations and feedback asdiscussed below.

In block 416, the cloud monitoring server 102 determines whether themonitoring request 214 is an on-demand request. As discussed above, thecloud customer computing device 104 may request data storage locationinformation on-demand, that is, directly in response to a particularrequest. Alternatively, the cloud customer computing device 104 mayrequest continuous, policy-based monitoring, that is, to be providedwith data storage location information as conditions of the policy aresatisfied. If the monitoring request 214 is not on-demand, the method400 branches to block 426, discussed below. If the monitoring request214 is on-demand, the method 400 advances to block 418.

In block 418, the cloud monitoring server 102 sends the response data218 to the cloud customer computing device 104. In some embodiments, inblock 420, the cloud monitoring server 102 may also providerecommendations to the cloud customer computing device 104 along withthe response data 218. Such recommendations may be based on the providerinformation 216 or on aggregate provider information collected fromother cloud service providers 106. Such recommendations may includerecommended modifications to the cloud customer's service levelagreement with the cloud service provider 106, recommendations foralternate services available from the cloud service provider 106, orrecommendations for alternative cloud service providers 106. Forexample, the cloud monitoring server 102 may recommend an alternativeservice from the cloud service provider 106 that more closely matchesthe geographic areas specified in the monitoring request 214.

In some embodiments, in block 422, the cloud monitoring server 102provides feedback to one or more of the cloud service providers 106concerning customer demands. Such recommendations may be based on theparticular monitoring request 214 and response data 218, or may be basedon aggregate information collected for other cloud customer computingdevices 104. The cloud service provider 106 may use such feedback, forexample, to determine frequently requested data storage locations ordata storage locations favorable for certain cloud customer entities.Following block 422, the method 400 advances to block 424.

In block 424, the cloud monitoring server 102 determines whethercontinuous monitoring has been requested. For example, for an on-demandmonitoring request 214, no further monitoring is required afterdelivering the response data 218 to the cloud customer computing device104. However, for a continuous, policy-based monitoring request 214, thecloud monitoring server 102 continues to monitor for changes in the datastorage location information without requiring another monitoringrequest 214. If continuous monitoring is not requested, the method 400loops back to block 404 to continue waiting for another monitoringrequest 214. If continuous monitoring has been requested, the method 400loops back to block 406 to continue collecting provider information 216.

Returning now to block 416, as stated above, if the cloud monitoringserver 102 determines that the monitoring request 214 is not anon-demand request, the method 400 branches to block 426. In block 426,the cloud monitoring server 102 determines whether a policy-basedmonitoring request 214 has been triggered. As discussed above, apolicy-based monitoring request 214 may specify certain conditionsrelating to storage locations. The monitoring policy may be triggeredwhen one or more of the conditions has been satisfied. For example, themonitoring policy may be triggered when the storage location of existingdata is changed, when the data storage location changes to a particular,specified country, or when the data storage location changes from afirst specified country to a second specified country. If the monitoringrequest policy has been triggered, the method 400 advances to block 418,to send response data to the cloud customer computing device 104 andcontinue monitoring the storage location information. If the monitoringrequest policy has not been triggered, the method 400 loops back toblock 406, to continue collecting provider information 216.

EXAMPLES

Illustrative examples of the devices and methods disclosed herein areprovided below. An embodiment of the devices and methods may include anyone or more, and any combination of, the examples described below.

Example 1 includes a cloud monitoring server for monitoring customerdata stored by one or more cloud services, the cloud monitoring servercomprising a cloud customer interface module to receive a monitoringrequest from a cloud customer computing device; a cloud providerinterface module to collect provider information from a cloud serviceprovider in response to receiving the monitoring request, the providerinformation to include storage location information of customer datastored by the cloud service provider; and a data analysis engine tocompile response data based on the monitoring request and the providerinformation; wherein the cloud customer interface module is to send theresponse data to the cloud customer computing device.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and wherein thecloud provider interface module comprises a cloud provider interfacemodule to collect provider information from each cloud service providerof a plurality of cloud service providers, in response to receiving themonitoring request.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1 and 2, andwherein the data analysis engine is further to (i) determine whether themonitoring request includes a monitoring policy and (ii) determine, inresponse to determining the monitoring request includes a monitoringpolicy, whether a condition of the monitoring policy has been satisfied;the cloud customer interface module is further to send the response datato the customer in response to determining the condition of themonitoring policy has been satisfied; and the cloud provider interfacemodule is further to continue to collect provider information inresponse to determining the monitoring request includes a monitoringpolicy.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-3, andwherein the condition of the monitoring policy comprises whether theprovider information has changed.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-4, andwherein the condition of the monitoring policy comprises whether thedata storage location has changed from a first country to a secondcountry.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-5, andwherein the cloud provider interface module further comprises aninformation bus module to retrieve the provider information from aninformation bus provided by the cloud monitoring server.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6, andwherein the cloud provider interface module further comprises anon-demand pull module to (i) request the provider information from thecloud service provider in response to receiving the monitoring request;and (ii) receive the provider information from the cloud serviceprovider.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, andwherein the cloud provider interface module further comprises acontinuous pull module to (i) repeatedly request the providerinformation from the cloud service provider at a reference interval, inresponse to receiving the monitoring request; and (ii) receive theprovider information from the cloud service provider in response to eachrequest.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-8, andwherein the data analysis engine is further to recommend an action tothe cloud customer computing device based on the provider information.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-9, andwherein the data analysis engine is to recommend an alternative cloudprovider to the cloud customer computing device based on the providerinformation.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 1-10, andwherein the data analysis engine is further to provide feedbackinformation to the cloud service provider based on the monitoringrequest and the response data.

Example 12 includes a cloud customer computing device to requestmonitoring information for customer data stored by one or more cloudservices, the cloud customer computing device comprising a monitoringrequest module to construct a monitoring request for storage locationinformation of customer data stored by one or more cloud serviceproviders; and a communication module to (i) send the monitoring requestto a cloud monitoring server and (ii) receive response data from thecloud monitoring server in response to the monitoring request.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 12, and wherein themonitoring request module is further to receive from a user of the cloudcustomer computing device a selection of at least one of: the one ormore cloud service providers to be monitored and the customer data to bemonitored; and the response data is to be based on the selected one ormore cloud service providers and the customer data to be monitored.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12 and 13, andwherein the monitoring request module is further to (i) receive from auser of the cloud customer computing device a condition to be satisfiedas a function of the storage location information and (ii) include amonitoring request policy in the monitoring request, the monitoringrequest policy to define the received condition to be satisfied; whereinthe response data is to be based on whether the condition of themonitoring request policy has been satisfied.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-14, andwherein the condition of the monitoring policy is to be satisfied upon achange in data storage location.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of any of Examples 12-15, andwherein the condition of the monitoring policy is to be satisfied when adata storage location of the customer data changes from a firstgeo-location to a second geo-location.

Example 17 includes a method to monitor customer data stored by one ormore cloud services, the method comprising receiving, by a cloudmonitoring server, a monitoring request from a cloud customer computingdevice; collecting, on the cloud monitoring server, provider informationfrom a cloud service provider in response to receiving the monitoringrequest, the provider information to include storage locationinformation of customer data stored by the cloud service provider;compiling, on the cloud monitoring server, response data based on themonitoring request and the provider information; and sending theresponse data from the cloud monitoring server to the cloud customercomputing device.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, and whereincollecting provider information from the cloud service providercomprises collecting provider information from each cloud serviceprovider of a plurality of cloud service providers, in response toreceiving the monitoring request.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of Examples 17 and 18, andfurther including determining, on the cloud monitoring server, whetherthe monitoring request includes a monitoring policy; determining, on thecloud monitoring server, in response to determining the monitoringrequest includes a monitoring policy, whether a condition of themonitoring policy has been satisfied; sending the response data to thecustomer in response to determining the condition of the monitoringpolicy has been satisfied; and continuing to collect providerinformation in response to determining the monitoring request includes amonitoring policy.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-19, and whereindetermining whether the condition of the monitoring policy has beensatisfied comprises determining whether the provider information haschanged.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-20, and whereindetermining whether the condition of the monitoring policy has beensatisfied comprises determining whether the data storage location haschanged from a first geo-location to a second geo-location.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-21, and whereincollecting the provider information from the cloud service providercomprises retrieving the provider information from an information busprovided by the cloud monitoring server.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-22, and whereincollecting the provider information from the cloud service providercomprises requesting the provider information from the cloud serviceprovider in response to receiving the monitoring request; and receivingthe provider information from the cloud service provider.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-22, and whereincollecting the provider information from the cloud service providercomprises repeatedly requesting the provider information from the cloudservice provider at a reference interval, in response to receiving themonitoring request; and receiving the provider information from thecloud service provider in response to each request.

Example 25 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-24, and whereinsending the response data to the cloud customer computing devicecomprises recommending an action to the cloud customer computing devicebased on the provider information.

Example 26 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-25, and whereinrecommending an action comprises recommending an alternative cloudprovider to the cloud customer computing device based on the providerinformation.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-26, and furthercomprising providing feedback information from the cloud monitoringserver to the cloud service provider based on the monitoring request andthe response data.

Example 28 includes a method for requesting monitoring information forcustomer data stored by one or more cloud services, the methodcomprising constructing, on a cloud customer computing device, amonitoring request for storage location information of customer datastored by one or more cloud service providers; sending the monitoringrequest from the cloud customer computing device to a cloud monitoringserver; and receiving, on the cloud customer computing device, responsedata from the cloud monitoring server in response to the monitoringrequest.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of Example 28, and furtherincluding receiving, on the cloud customer computing device, from a userof the cloud customer computing device, a selection of at least one of:the one or more cloud service providers to be monitored and customerdata to be monitored; wherein the response data is to be based on theselected one or more cloud service providers and customer data to bemonitored.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of Examples 28 and 29, andfurther including receiving, on the cloud customer computing device,from a user of the cloud customer computing device a condition to besatisfied as a function of the storage location information; andincluding, on the cloud customer computing device, a monitoring requestpolicy in the monitoring request, the monitoring request policy todefine the condition to be satisfied; wherein the response data is to bebased on whether the condition of the monitoring request policy has beensatisfied.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of Examples 28-30, and whereinincluding the monitoring request policy comprises specifying a conditionto be satisfied upon a change in data storage location.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of Examples 28-31, and whereinincluding the monitoring request policy comprises specifying a conditionto be satisfied when a data storage location of the customer datachanges from a first geo-location to a second geo-location.

Example 33 includes a mobile communication device comprising aprocessor; and a memory having stored therein a plurality ofinstructions that when executed by the processor cause the mobiledigital information display device to perform the method of any ofExamples 17-32.

Example 34 includes one or more machine readable storage mediacomprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that in responseto being executed result in a mobile communication device performing themethod of any of Examples 17-32.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. At least one storage device comprising instructionsthat, when executed, cause at least one processor to at least: access arequest for geographic storage location information concerning firstdata associated with a first cloud service, second data associated witha second cloud service, and third data associated with a third cloudservice; access first geographic storage location informationcorresponding to the first data associated with the first cloud service;access second geographic storage location information corresponding tothe second data associated with the second cloud service; access thirdgeographic storage location information corresponding to the third dataassociated with the third cloud service; and accept configurationinformation to select whether to provide a notification to identify achange in the first, second, or third geographic storage locationinformation corresponding to the first data associated with the firstcloud service, the second data associated with the second cloud service,or the third data associated with the third cloud service.
 22. The atleast one storage device of claim 21, wherein the change representsmovement of the first data associated with the first cloud service froma first region to a second region.
 23. The at least one storage deviceof claim 21, wherein the first region represents a country.
 24. The atleast one storage device of claim 21, wherein the first cloud service isdifferent from the second cloud service and the third cloud service, andthe second cloud service is different from the third cloud service. 25.The at least one storage device of claim 21, wherein the instructions,when executed, cause the at least one processor to initiate transmissionof the notification in response to the change in the geographic storagelocation information.
 26. The at least one storage device of claim 21,wherein the notification to identify the change is transmitted via ane-mail message.
 27. The at least one storage device of claim 21, whereinthe notification to identify the change is to be displayed via awebpage.
 28. The at least one storage device of claim 21, wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause the at least one processor to detectthe change in any of the first geographic location information, thesecond geographic location information, or the third geographic locationinformation.
 29. The at least one storage device of claim 21, whereinthe first cloud service is implemented by a web server.
 30. A servercomprising: an interface to enable communication with an externaldevice; memory; and at least one processor to: access a request forgeographic storage location information concerning at least one of firstdata associated with a first cloud service, second data associated witha second cloud service, and third data associated with a third cloudservice; access first geographic storage location informationcorresponding to the first data associated with the first service;access second geographic storage location information corresponding tothe second data associated with the second service; access thirdgeographic storage location information corresponding to the third dataassociated with the third service; and accept configuration informationto determine whether to provide a notification to identify a change inthe first, second, or third geographic storage location informationcorresponding to the first data associated with the first service, thesecond data associated with the second service, or the third dataassociated with the third service.
 31. The server of claim 30, whereinthe change represents movement of the first data associated with thefirst service from a first region to a second region.
 32. The server ofclaim 31, wherein the first region represents a country.
 33. The serverof claim 30, wherein the first service is different from the secondservice and the third service, and the second service is different fromthe third service.
 34. The server of claim 30, wherein the processor isto initiate transmission of the notification in response to the changein the geographic storage location information.
 35. The server of claim30, wherein the notification to identify the change is transmitted viaan e-mail message.
 36. The server of claim 30, wherein the notificationto identify the change is to be displayed via a webpage.
 37. The serverof claim 30, wherein the processor is to detect the change in any of thefirst geographic storage location information, the second geographicstorage location information, or the third geographic storage locationinformation.
 38. The server of claim 30, wherein the first cloud serviceis implemented by a web server.